Monday, February 4, 2013

India: Republic of Hate and Nightmares...

This appeared in Sunday times yesterday

India :Republic of Hate and Nightmares… not Ideas.

Ban this. Ban that.
Intimidate.Scare.Browbeat.Disrupt.Destroy.

We
are living in deeply troubling times. The Republic of Ideas…. Dreams…
Imagination… has been replaced by the Republic of Hate and Nightmares. Which is why it is
important to address this missive directly to the individual who is hell bent on
pushing the hate envelope still further.

Dear Mr. Intolerant - Disrupter
of Peace,

I write this with anguish in my heart. It took just seven days and four nasty
protests to establish your credentials as the ultimate cultural rogue.Sadly,the
weakened (and wicked) State has meekly surrendered to your bullying and threats.
You have picked your targets well. Ashish Nandy,Kamalhassan, Salman Rushdie and
Shah Rukh Khan. High profile… but soft and vulnerable. You decided to ‘teach
them a lesson’.You nearly succeeded. It happened because we let it. Because we went
on the defensive. We explained ourselves strenuously…provided alibis and
excuses. But mainly because we surrendered. Too easily.Too soon. And allowed
you to trample all over us. Yes – it has become an ‘Us Vs. Them’ siege,
unfortunately.Why did we back down so fast? There lies the sad tale. It has to do with
several factors – all of them valid. Age and frail health ( Asish Nandy).
Commerce and connected considerations (Kamalhassan). Heightened sensitivity (
SRK). Or plain fatigue ( Salman Rushdie ). It has come to such a ludicrous
point that soon creative communities across India will be forced to quietly
shut shop. And worse – shut up. That is precisely what you want.

The irony of this ghastly situation isn’t lost
on anyone. Check this out - most times, the angry mobs ( led by people like you)
are composed of people who do not read, write,draw,sing, act,paint… or even think.
Books are judged by a bunch of
illiterate goons who may never have held one in their hands. Movies are
condemned by those who have not watched the film they are demanding a ban on.
Art is dismissed by philistines who have never stepped into a gallery. Speeches
are damned by those who don’t know any language – except the language of abuse.
In such a hostile atmosphere, artists, writers, painters, movie makers,
musicians and thinkers are pushed into a pen…. threatened, gagged, brow beaten,
intimidated. Their crime?They possess an independent mind.

Why is Kamalhassan threatening to quit
India and seek exile in a more tolerant environment?Why is he compelled to
convince his “Muslim brothers’’ that his film is pro-Muslim? Why is Asish being dragged from one tv studio to the next
asserting , “ I have always been a champion of the Dalits’ ? Why should SRK
have to play the martyr over and over again and wear his patriotism on his
sleeve? Why is Rushdie still hunted and hounded?

Mr. Distrupter,
you know the answer.

As
of now, you are calling the shots in this ongoing battle for Freedom of the
Mind. Your corrosive antipathy towards what is foolishly called the Liberal
Threat, is winning the war so far. Intellectuals are crawling when they needn’t
even stoop.Soon public platforms will be effortlessly hijacked by your types –
narrow minded, vicious people. “Religious thugs” indulging in “cultural
terrorism” to borrow Rushdie’s evocative words. You and your ilk, who are
nothing but two paisa hirelings of local politicians, appear determined to exert
control over carefully nurtured vote banks . That is precisely what
has led to an outbreak of cultural goondagiri parading as moral policing.
People can see through such humbug. What do you want to hear? Hypocritical,
gratuitous remarks? Would it make things any better if our intellectuals were
to start every public discourse with salutations like : “My Muslim brothers…my
Dalit sisters…. my Tribal children?” Your
recent ‘triumphs’ should not give you false confidence. In the prevailing
Chamcha Culture that defines political life, you may have succeeded in terrorizing
a few. But be warned - this is a fight that goes beyond
personalities.Or even expeditious politics. It is not just about Asish, SRK,
Rushdie or Kamalhassan . This is a fight for freedom. Absolute freedom. Zero
compromise freedom. Freedom of ideas…
and the
vibrant expression of all that is diverse in our complex society. As
guaranteed by our Constitution. Lathis can stop crowds but not thoughts. Dissent
is our birthright.And we shall have it. Just you watch!

8 comments:

They protest mainly because they feel Muslim brothers are shown in bad light (which is a work of fiction ) but the muslim brothers and sisters are treated badly in real in foreign countries even if it is Abdul Kalam.. Where were all these protests, ban on foreign countries.. They wont simply wont react because the consequences are like a boomerang it will just hit on their own head.. This is why we go amreeka, london..

What Pritish Nandy said or Kamal Hassan wanted to show hsould have been perfectly normal in a civilized country. But as long as these caste and religion parasites who are leaders in this country are there - this country can only go down from here.

For Once, I agree with Shobha De. But not many takes you seriously and reads your article as far as i know. thats because, you also write articles like the one you did in the recent Outlook Magazine about Afzal Guru's Hanging....

Most important blunders in the formation of India: * Creation of nations on the basis of religion. * Division of states on the basis of language.* Different sets of law for followers of different religion.* Reservations on the basis of caste and not on economic condition.All these lead to nothing but hatred & mistrust. More about India in Indian World Records

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